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Head Lice What You Need To Know
If your child has head lice, you probably have many questions. What exactly are head lice? Does this mean my child is dirty? Can head lice carry disease? Where did my child get the head lice? Should I tell my child’s friends about the lice? Do I have to treat everyone in my family for head lice? How do I know for sure that my child really does have head lice? What about our pets—can they carry head lice, too? It is only natural to wonder these things if your child comes home with head lice. Read on to find out the answers to these questions.
First, head lice are tiny parasites that live on the scalp. They are specialized to live on humans, which means that pets like dogs and cats cannot carry head lice. Head lice are tiny insects that are approximately the size and shape of a sesame seed when they are fully-grown.
Head lice are very common and are extremely easy to spread. This is especially true in schools, day care centers and playgrounds. Any location or situation where there is the possibility that your child might have contact with anyone else’s hair, or anything that has touched their hair, is the perfect location or situation for head lice to spread. Head lice are not killed by regular soap or shampoo. Having head lice does not indicate poor hygiene, and even excessive bathing will not prevent or kill head lice.
If you are concerned that your child might have been diagnosed with head lice in error, you can easily check for lice at home. Simply have your child sit in direct sunlight, or beneath the brightest light you have at home. Part the hair with a pencil or similar item, and examine the hair and scalp.
Head lice frequently leave small, red, raised bumps on the scalp from their bites. In addition, you will probably see tiny white bumps on the base of the hair strands. These are nits, and are the easiest way to see if your child has head lice. These nits are whitish or grey, and are firmly attached to the hair strands with glue. They are difficult to remove without a specialized hair comb.
Head lice rarely carry disease. However, there have been a few documented cases of head lice spreading typhus. Most head lice do not carry disease, but it is common for a child to develop a secondary skin infection on the scalp from scratching. If this occurs, it is usually treated with antihistamines to fight the itch, and depending on the severity of the infection, antibiotics might be prescribed.
It is usually not necessary to treat the entire family for head lice. However, everyone in the household should be checked carefully for head lice and nits. In addition, the child’s bedding, stuffed animals, coat, hats, scarves and any other item that encounters the child’s head should be cleaned.
Anything that can be put through the washing machine should be washed with the hottest water possible and dried in the clothes dryer on high heat, not out on the clothesline. Items such as stuffed animals and pillows should be put in a hot clothes dryer for thirty minutes. This will kill any live lice that are on them.
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Sun 6 Jul 2008 02:29:33 CST | |